In Your Place
by DeltaCore
Summary: While hurrying to help Amy, Rory trips and accidentally activates a two-way transport device. Where has he gone, and who is the man that has taken his place?
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome, dear reader, to my first publicly posted story ever! Although it may not be my first bit of writing, I am still very excited to have it posted. I would love it if you could notify me of any errors or inconsistencies, and I would also really appreciate it if you let me know how well I've captured the characters' personalities. Thank you in advance, and without further ado, I present to you In Your Place.**

The Doctor dances enthusiastically around the TARDIS controls, switching levers and tinkering with the keyboard. Amy laughs at the sight while Rory grasps a pillar for support and the whole ship begins to shake. A moment later, the console emits the familiar grinding shriek as the TARDIS lands.

"Well then," the Doctor exclaims excitedly, "Off we go! I've parked her on the rift, but we need to give the TARDIS some time to refuel." He races to the door with Amy close behind, both grinning broadly. Rory follows behind, smiling a little at his wife's excitement.

The Doctor swings the door open, and then closes it just as quickly when he sees what is outside. Turning around and swiftly walking back to the consoles, he says, "No, no, definitely no. I am not going out in that."

Amy marches forward to the exit and peeks outside. "What? Afraid of a bit of hail?"

He spins around to look at her. "Not afraid, no. I'm just not overly fond of it. I love snow, but hail is just vicious."

Amy smirks and returns to the console to stand next to her husband. "Well then, what do we do while we wait?"

"Maybe we could see more of the TARDIS." Rory suggests. He looks at Amy, and she nods. "I mean, there are a lot of things we haven't seen yet." They both glance over at the Doctor.

He smiles and claps his hands together. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" He rushes up the stairs toward a hallway entrance, but then twirls around to face the couple right behind him. "You'll both need to remember one thing." Upon seeing their looks of confusion, he smiles a little wider. "Don't wander off."

They all set off deeper into the ship. Amy is practically skipping and Rory holds onto her hand to keep her from running off. The first corridor they enter has the same glass and metal theme as the console room, but with a lower ceiling. There are several doors on either side. The Doctor occasionally opens one to glance into it, but he always closes it quickly. Amy often opens them after he's moved on so that she can see what kind of room lies inside.

Rory tries to keep track, but there are so many rooms that it's easy to lose count. A kitchen, three bathrooms, some sort of butterfly sanctuary, a room with a pool table, the wardrobe room that they're all familiar with, what appears to be a small museum, bedrooms, rooms full of assorted random science experiments, several stairways, a few lifts, an extensive chemistry lab, and so many others.

The Doctor continues through countless corridors, obviously searching for something specific. He might have even found it eventually, if Amy hadn't decided to do exactly what she was told not to: wander off.

One particular door catches her interest. They're currently in a hallway with slick steel walls and a floor consisting of metal grating. There are fewer doors, and the ones around are plain silver with no decoration. All except one: in the center of the corridor there is a huge archway framed by flickering lights. The Doctor walks by without noticing it, distracted as he is by something further down. However, Amy pauses in front of the opening and looks in. The lights in the room beyond are off, and the hall isn't bright enough to illuminate anything. Amy cautiously steps forward through the arch.

"Uh, Amy," Rory whispers, "He said not to wander off."

She raises an eyebrow. "And you always follow orders? Come on, this looks interesting."

Rory looks conflicted, hesitant to follow her, but hesitant to leave her alone. The Doctor is now out of sight, having turned a corner further down the corridor. Rory sighs and creeps into the room behind her.

Blinding white lights flash on the moment they are both through the arch. An enormous room is revealed, with tables, racks, and shelves full of _stuff_. Every available surface is covered, including some of the floor. Upon closer inspection, they both discover that none of it looks even remotely human in origin. There is strange organic matter in various containers, and abundance of foreign technology scattered randomly, and many things that seem to be a hybrid of both.

"That is a lot of stuff..." Rory mutters in astonishment. Amy grins and grabs his hand, dragging him behind her as she delves deeper into the room. Soon both of them are hopelessly lost in the maze of shelves, but they hardly notice; they're too distracted by the alien gadgets everywhere. Occasionally one of them will even venture to touch one.

Time is forgotten while Amy and Rory investigate the plethora of paraphernalia. It becomes a game, with each of them trying to find the cooler object.

"Hey, look at this!" Amy exclaims. She holds up a long golden rod with a series if knobs and dials protruding from the sides. There's a large button on the end that she contemplates pressing. Before she can make up her mind, Rory laughs and holds up his find.

"What do you suppose this is for?" He's discovered a small object that vaguely resembles a collection of marbles connected by solid spider webs to form a sphere. The various marbles flicker with alternating colors and the web flashes whenever it's moved. The effect is rather mesmerizing, and the two stare at the sphere for a few moments before grinning at each other and resuming the contest.

Soon Amy finds three bronze triangles levitating in a globe of golden light, but Rory tops that with an anti-gravity chamber. He accidentally gets stuck in the center of it without anything to push off of and starts to panic. He ends up flailing in midair for several minutes before Amy can get her laughter under control enough to help him.

After that incident, Rory is a little more cautious when activating machines, but Amy is still just as daring. They go through device after device. Rory finds a warped, crystalline prism that bends the light to form abstract images. Amy discovers what at first appears to be a jetpack but is actually a machine for compacting matter into small cubes.

While Rory is occupied searching through a table of odd devices, Amy picks up a small object. It's a thick, golden bracelet with curious designs engraved on the surface. Fascinated, she slides the band onto her wrist. It clicks and tightens once it is settled.

Instantly, her whole frame goes slack, and then she screams in terror and stumbles backward. Rory whips around to find her, only to see his wife staring around the room as if it's full of monsters. She's on the verge of hyperventilating as she backs away slowly.

Stunned, he tries to get her to calm down. "Amy, it's alright, there's nothing to be frightened of." Despite his gentle words, she backs into a shelf, sliding down until she rests in a ball on the ground.

"Get away." She whispers, her voice trembling. Rory tries to approach her, but she screams at him and pulls away. Concerned and confused, he takes a couple steps back with his hands up in surrender.

"Amy, everything's fine. Just...uh..." He looks around frantically at all the useless junk. What should he do? "Uh, just wait here. I'll go find the Doctor. I promise this will all be fine." Rory isn't sure how he plans to find anything within the labyrinth of corridors, but he'll manage somehow.

He races through the room to the corridor, and tears through the halls. "DOCTOR!" He shouts frequently. He keeps running until he's beyond lost, not stopping until he can hardly breathe.

When Rory finally pauses to catch his breath, he leans heavily against a nearby pillar. He's in a wide, round room with a low ceiling and several doors leading deeper into the TARDIS. He looks at each door, trying to decide which one he should go through.

The door second from the left opens suddenly, and a head pokes through. Rory sighs in relief, releasing a lot of pent up frustration and panic as he recognizes the familiar face.

"Rory!" The Doctor cries happily. He steps all the way through the door, beaming. "I thought I'd never find you two! But wait," he scans the room with his eyes, no doubt searching for his ginger companion, "Where's Amy?"

"That's why I came looking for you, Doctor-" Rory stops when he realizes what is off about the Doctor's appearance. Staring at the thing perched on the Time Lord's head, he mutters in surprise, "You're wearing a bright yellow hat."

"Yes, we were going through some rather unstable rooms, I needed the extra protection. I offered one to you as well, but you didn't accept it." He pats the hard hat on his head.

"Well we sort of wandered off..." Rory responds.

"Yes, I see that now. So tell me, what trouble has Amy gotten herself into this time?"

"Well I'm not exactly sure. We were in this big room full of weird alien things-"

The Doctor's smile vanishes and he takes off down the hallway. Rory gives up his explanation and runs after him. They both race through corridor after corridor, doubling back a few times and turning countless corners until they come to a halt before the flickering archway.

"This is the place." Rory gasps, out of breath again. The Doctor doesn't hesitate to rush in, but Rory waits a second before forcing his burning legs to carry him into the cavernous room.

Desperate sobbing echoes through the otherwise tranquil air. Rory finds the Doctor kneeling next to a distraught Amy, trying to search for the source of her torment.

He quickly spots the thick golden bracelet on her wrist. "Ooh, not good." He mutters as he pulls out his sonic screwdriver. The Time Lord adjusts a few settings before directing it at the bracelet. Nothing happens for several seconds, and then the Doctor curses. "Rory, come here, I need your help!"

Rory immediately steps away from the table he'd been using as a support. However, as he's moving forwards, he trips over a stray gadget and falls to the ground. His arm hits another device that's also on the floor, a flat disc with a large button on the top. It immediately starts flashing and bleeping, while the Doctor's eyes widen and he scrambles over to Rory.

He's too late. The device emits a piercing shriek, and then Rory vanishes in a flash of light.


	2. Chapter 2

H**ello again, reader, and welcome back! Thank you for reading the story, feel free to let me know how I'm doing. Here's a quick shoutout to my three reviewers, Nikki Pond, royslady51, and the Guest reviewer I Love Janto. I really appreciate it guys! To the new readers; follow if you like it, and have a lovely day! Here is chapter 2, and a bit of Torchwood. **

Jack dismisses various questions and comments from his team, and steps into his office. Shutting the door, he sighs and sits down in his chair. That had been a rather arduous adventure. The only good thing that came out of it was the curious new device they had managed to salvage. Although that has the potential to turn on him as well.

He reaches into the pocket of his jacket for the small piece of tech. It is a flat, round object resembling a thick, black disk. The surface is riddled with an array of controls, the most prominent being a large blue button.

Puzzled, Jack turns the object over in his hands. After what has happened previously when members of his team have tampered with mysterious devices, he is hesitant to explore this one. For all he knows, it might be explosive.

Eventually Jack stops uselessly fidgeting with the thing and examines it closely. He can guess what some of the controls might do, such which one will turn it on, and which one will adjust the setting, but the function of the gadget is still a mystery.

He only ventures so far as turning it on. A few of the buttons light up, but nothing else seems happen. Jack sits back in his chair. Now he's faced with a dilemma: risk messing with a potentially dangerous device, or satisfy his curiosity.

A loud crash suddenly resonates through the building, startling Jack and making him drop the gadget. Cursing, he picks it up, and then almost drops it again as the console starts beeping. Alarmed, Jack searches for something to turn it off. The beeping gets more insistent, and he scowls at the device.

Suddenly a painfully loud shriek is heard, and Jack disappears in a flash.

Within that same burst of light, another figure appears. Squeezing his eyes shut to protect them from the stark white, Rory waits for the sensation of falling to stop. He hits some hard surface rather painfully, and finally, hesitantly, opens his eyes. His head is spinning and his ears are still ringing from the noise, but he ignores those as he stares around in shock.

"This is not the TARDIS..." He whispers in disbelief. Rory finds himself in a cluttered office. There's a wide, strangely shaped desk dominating one corner of the room and several odd contraptions scattered about. The door is shut, with the window covered.

Rory scrambles to his feet quickly. There's a loud knock on the door, and it is opened slowly from the outside. Panicking, Rory searches for somewhere to hide, but he's not quick enough.

A woman steps into the room. She has dark hair with short bangs, and a worried expression. "Jack, the-"

The girl stares at Rory for a second, and then pulls out a gun and aims at his chest. He puts his hands up in surrender.

"Who are you and where is Jack?" She demands, her eyes wide.

"I-I was just..." Rory trails off. What was he supposed to say?

"How did you get in?"

"I don't actually know." He replies slowly.

The girl steps back towards the door, still staring him down. She looks away briefly to call out to someone in the other room, turning back to him quickly. "Tosh, Ianto, get in here!"

Rory tries to keep his breathing under control. He needs to get back to Amy! She was in trouble, and the Doctor can't help her alone.

Two more people approach the room behind the woman with the gun. One is a short Asian woman. She looks about curiously, examining Rory before cautiously stepping forward for a closer look. The other is a well-dressed man with short hair and a kind face. He hangs back by the door.

The Asian woman circles Rory, and then pulls out a small device. She proceeds to scan him with it, observing the readings carefully before turning to an object on the ground.

"Strange." She mutters.

Rory follows her gaze and blinks in confusion when he spots a precise duplicate of the device he had accidentally hit back on the TARDIS, albeit one that seemed rather damaged. The small machine is sparking dangerously and emitting constant static.

"Isn't that the thing Jack found earlier?" The dark-haired girl comments.

"Yes, I believe it is." The Asian woman crouches to pick it up, but once it's jostled even the slightest bit, the flickering disk splutters and dies in a shower of sparks. She drops it quickly onto the desk and backs away. Instead of trying to studying it further, she turns to Rory.

"Who are you?" She inquires.

"R-Rory Pond." He stutters.

"And how did you get in here?"

Rory swallows nervously. "I'm not sure. I was back at the TARDIS, and I tripped on something and hit that device. Or, one like it. The Doctor needed my help because Amy-"

The dark-haired girl cuts him off. "The Doctor? You know him?"

Rory nods hesitantly. "My wife, Amy, and I travel with him."

The dark haired girl and the man in the back share a glance. "Tosh," the girl says, "See what you can get from that device. Ianto, fetch Owen. I will escort Mr. Pond to a holding cell for further questioning."

Rory looks between all three of them, but no one argues against her idea. "Que-" he clears his hoarse throat. "Questioning?"

The dark-haired girl lowers her weapon, then steps forward and grabs his arm, pulling him along. He obediently follows alongside her, very aware of the gun still in the girl's possession. The man -Ianto, probably- passes them and walks off to another room.

"Gwen!" Toshiko calls from the office. The girl -Gwen- turns her head. "Don't forget about-"

A huge crash cuts her off. All of them look around to find the source, but there's no obvious catalyst. A little shaken, Gwen simply walks faster, continuing to direct Rory to another part of the building.

"Relax, we're not going to hurt you." She says, looking up at him. He just nods silently. She doesn't attempt any further conversation, leaving Rory to wallow in his own thoughts.

He's still very confused about how he got here, where exactly 'here' is, and who these people are. They seem to know about the Doctor, but if they are friends of the Doctor, they wouldn't lock him up. Does that mean they're his enemies? They haven't attacked him yet, so he guesses they aren't. Maybe they're just some of those people that the Doctor meets then leaves behind, not knowing him long enough to be friends or enemies.

Gwen and Rory enter a hallway lined with small rooms. They resemble a hybrid of modern and ancient cells, the dark lighting and stone walls contrasting sharply with the glass doors and new technology. One or two of the holding cells are occupied by aliens, but the majority are empty.

Gwen opens a cell and stands to the side while Rory steps into it.

"I guess there's no point in fighting." He says with resignation.

"I am sorry about this." Gwen looks at him a bit sadly. "It's just protocol. I will try to get you back to your wife." She tells him. And then, seemingly at a loss for words, she just nods and walks away, leaving Rory in the holding cell.


	3. Chapter 3

**(Slightly overdue) DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the plot and my custom aliens that do not actually exist (as far as I know).**

**Hello again, reader! You have my deepest apologies for making you wait, but I'm posting these as they get done. This one just took a bit longer. Enjoy!**

**[UPDATE] It has come to my attention that a huge part of this chapter vanished when I uploaded it, so I had to take it down and repost it. Sorry for any confusion, the problem has been resolved. **

Jack is no stranger to alien transportation. As the light warps around him, he recognizes it as some kind of teleport system, albeit a rather uncomfortable one. His ears are ringing from the concussive noise and the light blinds him and makes his eyes ache. Not to mention the overwhelming vertigo.

Once he can see again, he notices immediately that he is not in his office. In fact, Jack has never seen the room he's in before. It's a colossal room resembling an exceptionally cluttered warehouse. He slowly looks around, taking in the piles of assorted machines

"Jack?"

He spins around at the sound of his name. The unfamiliar voice belongs to a strange man wearing a bowtie. The man is crouching next to a sleeping, redheaded woman who's curled up on the ground.

The man jumps up excitedly. "Jack!" He exclaims again.

Jack stares at him suspiciously. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Of course you do, it's me! You were searching for me for so long, I hope you'd recall all of that." He gestures with one arm. "Remember, the hand? You used it to track me down."

The realization strikes Jack hard. "Doctor?!" He almost shouts, grinning. "You've changed your face again. And your style. It's a rather" He looks the Doctor over, searching for the right word, "interesting look. Especially the bowtie."

"Bowties are cool." The Doctor says, adjusting his. Jack just nods and turns his attention to the woman on the floor.  
"Is this your new companion?" He asks.

The Doctor walks back to her, kneeling on the hard ground. "Yes, this is Mrs Amy Pond. She's been travelling with me for a little while now-"  
Jack, now crouching next to both of them, whistles. "You sure know how to pick 'em."

"-with her husband."

Jack quirks an eyebrow at him. "I didn't know you did families now."

"I don't, this is different." The Doctor replies, slightly annoyed.

"In any case, what seems to be the problem? I'm pretty sure you don't usually let your companions sleep on the floor in...where is this?"

The Doctor focuses on scanning Amy with his sonic screwdriver. "We're deep in the TARDIS. And the problem is this." The Doctor holds up her wrist, showing him the thick golden bracelet. "This is a rather unpleasant device I found decades ago. I'd forgotten I still had it, actually. Poor Amy found it and put it on."

"What does it do?"

With a sigh, the Doctor puts her arm back down. "Essentially, it terrifies you. It induces a horrific hallucination similar to a nightmare, but you're awake the entire time. It definitely startled Rory when she started screaming."

"Who's Rory?"

Glancing at Jack, the Doctor simply answers with. "Mr. Pond."

Jack acknowledges his reply with a glance, and the Doctor continues his explanation. "Now, she's currently stable. I managed to tamper with the device enough to put her to sleep, but I fear that it won't be peaceful for long."

Jack leans forward as Amy's arm twitches, and then her whole body tenses. She begins to mutter incoherently with a desperate tone. He tries to comfort her a little with a hand on her shoulder, but she pulls away.

The Doctor watches the exchange curiously. "You've changed, Jack. Not too much, but you're more...protective of others, more considerate. Perhaps Torchwood has done you good."

Jack smiles. "Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment. Now, what do we do to fix this?" He gestures to Amy.

"Ah, yes, back to Amy. Poor little Amy. Well, as far as I can tell it shouldn't be too difficult, but I'll need your help." He adjusts the setting on his sonic while Jack awaits orders.

"Alright, good! Now, you need to hold the device here," The Doctor points out where to grasp it, "and press these buttons. That should engage the main controls. I will hack into the main router with my sonic and disengage it. When I tell you to, pull the two halves apart. It should release enough for us to get it off of her."

Jack grabs the bracelet with both hands as directed, holding down the buttons. The Doctor sonics it for several seconds and then tells Jack to pull. With a great deal more effort than either of them expected would be necessary, the device clicks and falls off of Amy's wrist.

The Doctor quickly snatches it and stuffs it in his pocket. "I'll dispose of this later, but first," he stands up and walks over to where Jack had materialized, "we need to find out how you somehow managed to switch places with Rory." He picks up the transport disk and begins scanning it.

Jack is still next to Amy. Her eyelids flutter as she slowly wakes up. Upon regaining consciousness, Amy sits bolt upright and wraps her arms around Jack.

"Rory!" She cries in relief.

Jack extricates himself from her grip. "Sorry, you've got the wrong guy." He tells her.

Amy pulls back immediately and stares at him with wide eyes for a few seconds. Then she punches him in the face and scrambles backwards into the shelf.

The Doctor looks over from where he is investigating the disk. Jack is flat on his back, covering half his face. Amy is simply staring at him. She looks up at the Doctor with a confused gaze.

"Who's he?" She demands.

"Uh, Amy meet Jack. He's a friend of mine." He introduces before turning back to the device.

Jack collects himself off the floor as Amy stands up a little weakly. He holds out a hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Captain Jack Harkness."

Amy hesitantly shakes his hand. "Amy Pond."

Jack nods. "So I've heard." He pulls his other hand away from his face. There's no blood, but his eye is already beginning to bruise. "Tell me, do you usually give people a shiner when you first meet them?"

"Not usually, no. Just when I wake to find them standing over me."

Jack raises his eyebrow. "First off, I wasn't standing over anyone. Second, you are the one who hugged me. I didn't initiate any contact. But I've got to say, that was an impressive punch."

Amy ignores his comment. She looks around, searching for someone. "Where's Rory?"

The Doctor stops his tampering and gazes at her. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. He accidentally activated a two way transport device which I believe to be Slykein in origin. When he dematerialized, Jack appear in the exact same place. Now, based on my readings, and the energy residue all over Jack, I would assume he came through from the other end of the same device."

They both look at Jack a little expectantly. "What?" He asks.

"Well, since it appears that you were transported the same way as Rory, perhaps you could shed some light on the situation." Amy says.

"All I know is that my device started going haywire, and then I ended up here."

"Wait, your device?" The Doctor inquires.

"My team and I recovered a similar device on our latest mission. I was alone in my office with it when it suddenly started acting up. There was a huge flash of light and a loud bang, and the next moment I was here."

"Well that explains it, then. The device you found was this one's twin. When Rory activated this one, it transported him to yours, and you here." The Doctor turns the disk over.

Amy steps forward to look at it as well. "Can you reverse it? Switch them back?"

The Doctor fiddles with his sonic a bit more. "Yes. All it should take is a little-"

He's cut off by the room suddenly beginning to quake. Objects fall off the shelves and smash onto the cold floor.

The Doctor looks around at the room with widened eyes. "No, no, no, NO!"

He races out of the room. Amy and Jack look at each other briefly and then run after him. The three of them dash through various hallways, with a few shortcuts through a couple of small rooms, and eventually end up in the console room.

The TARDIS is shaking wildly as if it's travelling. The Doctor frantically rushes around the controls, attempting to stop the machine. He grows increasingly more agitated by the minute as nothing changes.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Amy shouts to he heard over all the noise.

"Something is moving the TARDIS. I don't why, I don't know what, but she isn't transporting herself. If she was, that would be moving." He points up at the glass cylinder in the center of the room, where the rings that usually pump up and down are still.

Sparks shoot out of the console near the Doctor, who shields his eyes from the spray. Jack grabs onto one of the bars attached to the console for support as the whole room tips sideways. "Do you think it's friendly?"

"I don't know!" The Doctor yells.

The TARDIS settles after a few more minutes of tossing and shaking. Steam pops from various places around the room. The room is utterly silent, aside from the heavy breathing of all three inhabitants. Amy release her death grip on a pillar, and Jack steps back from the console.

The Doctor is already recovered and busily typing. He reads the shifting figures on the screen and switches a few small levers in response.

"It seems as though we've landed. My scanners say we're in the Eucliseae quadrant, hovering above Istran. Resident species: the Slykein. But wait, there's something else. We are /inside/ another ship!" The Doctor leans back and double checks his readings.

"What do you mean inside another ship?" Amy questions.

He briskly strides over to the door, quickly followed by Jack and Amy. "I mean this." He swings the door open and steps aside for the other two to see.

The peer outside, and are immediately met by the barrel of a gun.


	4. Chapter 4

**So here we are, dear reader. It's been a while, and I apologize for the delay, but with the apology comes a warning: I am not a very consistent person, and these chapters are coming out as quick as I can get them finished. It may be a while between updates, so I hope you aren't terribly impatient. This one in particular took a while because, even though it's short, I had to put a lot of consideration into it. Not only did I have to organize the plotline for the near (and somewhat distant) future (as it becomes relevant very soon), I also went and invented a new species of aliens! A lot of thought went into them, because everything about them is relevant to the plot. I had to carefully piece details together so everything can make sense later. I have them, their planet, their culture (to some extent), and even a little bit of history figured out. So respect the aliens!**

**Now, I don't have any more excuses except for the fact that I got minor writers' block halfway through, right in the middle of a VERY busy week. Anywho, I'm done now, so go read the chapter already!**

**(And stick around after because there's a brief question at the end.)**

"All travelers must exit the spacecraft." An unfamiliar voice commands.

With the Doctor in front, they all file out of the TARDIS, and into a wide room. The ceiling isn't very high, but the walls extend outwards for a fair distance. The monotony of the silver floor, walls, and ceiling is broken by veins of pulsing, electric blue light that look like conduits of some sort. Crates of all shapes and sizes are scattered about the room.

Further to the point, directly in front of them is a short, slight, humanoid creature. It has pale aqua skin with very prominent veins, some the same blue as the ones in the wall, and some a soft green. The head is mostly human in shape, but instead of hair its scalp is covered in small, thin spikes that are inclined backwards. It has fine, pointed features make it look like a fairy with one prominent difference; instead of a nose the alien's face just comes to a gentle point. Its delicate hands are curled around a long gun, tapered fingers wrapping around the weapon entirely.

"All travelers must kneel." It commands. They comply slowly to avoid being shot point blank, but it doesn't escape the Doctor's notice that its mouth doesn't move when it speaks.

Amy looks around warily, but there aren't any obvious exits. "Doctor, we're trapped." She whispers. She watches as the Time Lord scans the walls as well, eventually coming to the same conclusion. He then continues examining the room, taking in all the assorted cargo, and finally letting his eyes rest on the alien.

"Identify yourselves." The alien demands.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor." He raises his hand to wave, but stops when the alien tenses and raises its weapon slightly. Lowering his arm slowly, he continues his introductions. "This is my companion, Amy." He glances back to Jack, "And Jack. Who are you?" He inquires.

The alien hesitates. "I am called Telvin Estahnei."

"So you're in charge here, Estahnei?" Turning to the others, he quietly remarks, "Telvin is a rank. Estahnei is essentially commander of this ship, the highest rank on board. Unless there's some higher authority with them, like a Ketle. They're practically royalty."

"How do you know so much about our kind, human?" The alien seems a little nervous now.

"I told you, I'm the Doctor. And I'm not human." He stands up, and Estahnei steps back and aims the weapon hurriedly. "Oh please, that's not going to hurt me. I know a real weapon when I see one. That device isn't even properly powered. In fact, its not even yours. I'd go so far as to say you don't actually know how to use it."

Jack stands up as well, quickly followed by Amy "Hang on, if that's not a weapon, why were we following orders?" He asks.

"Because, it's good to cooperate. People listen better when they're not angry. But really, even you should've been able to tell that that's not a gun." The Doctor replies.

Jack scoffs. "Sorry, my head isn't an encyclopedia for all things alien. And what are we doing here?"

The Doctor points at Jack. "Yes, good question!" Turning to Estahnei, he inquires curiously, "What are we doing here? Because I certainly didn't tell the TARDIS to move, yet here we are in a Slykein ship. Your Slykein ship."

Estahnei lowers the device it had been holding and draws itself up to its full, albeit short, height. "You are hostages, and as such you will only answer questions, not ask them."

The Doctor lowers himself onto one knee in front of Estahnei. "How about we make a compromise? I think there's a lot we can learn from each other, and I may be able to help you. I'll ask one questions for every one I answer. Deal?"

Estahnei glares at him. "What makes you think I need a human's help?"

The Doctor covers his face with his hands to hide his frustration. Once he composes himself again, he looks back up at Estahnei. "I'm not hu-"

"Then what? What are you? You look human, and you were found on Earth, a human planet."

The Doctor sighs. "I'm a Time Lord."

Estahnei inhaled sharply and steps back a little. "But the Time War...Surely all the Time Lords are gone?"

"I'm the only one left. The last in the universe." The Doctor looks down, his expression sorrowful.

The room is silent for a short moment. Estahnei raises her chin with a determined expression. "I accept your proposition, Telvin Doctor. A question for an answer."

"Telvin..." Amy repeats.

"Estahnei's referring to me as an equal. So, why are we here?" The Doctor asks, smiling a little.

Estahnei moves and sets the long device on a nearby crate. "You were in possession of Slykein technology."

"Oh, you mean this!" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the transport device that had taken Rory earlier.

Estahnei looks disappointed. "Where is the rest?"

"The rest? You mean the one Jack found?" Amy asks.

To appease Estahnei's obvious confusion, the Doctor explains quickly. "Jack recently recovered an identical device with his, ah, team back on Earth. This device," He holds up the one in his hand, "was accidentally triggered by my other companion Rory, and they both teleported their respective holders. We got Jack, his team got Rory."

"So there is more of our technology back on Earth?" Estahnei asks.

"Yes, there is." The Doctor replies. "Why?"

Estahnei looks at them a little sadly. "Then I fear for their safety."

The Doctor looks straight into Estahnei's eyes. "Tell me."

**Question; Would any of you lovely readers like some sort of pronunciation guide for the weird names, ranks, and species? Respond in the comments or send me a PM, I love to hear from you guys!**

**-DC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey there, reader! Long time no see, eh? That was a rather unexpected hiatus (for all of us), so thank you for your patience throughout it. This chapter is, I believe, my longest yet, so I hope that makes up for it. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon(ish)!**

**I would also like to thank all the new followers I've got! It's always fantastic when I see that someone else likes my story. And, of course, thanks to the old followers too. Everybody here is just awesome! **

**I try to respond to every one of your lovely reviews, but it can be hard to keep track. So I apologize if I missed anyone!**

**And I know that this has been a long time coming, but I just have one more thing to say: Happy Birthday to my friend Choosh9! I worked hard to get this up for you today!**

**Anywho, here you go, reader! Chapter 5 and back to Rory!**

* * *

Rory isn't left alone in the cell for long, but his short incarceration is far from peaceful. After the first several minutes there are, at random intervals, various loud thumps and a few alarming crashes. He begins to hear a lot of shouting and heavy footsteps running to and fro frantically. Above all, he can hear a strange keening thrum; somehow a mixture of painfully high whistling and a deep, reverberating hum.

The ceiling begins to crack, dislodging small stones and a lot of dust. All the lights spasm and splutter dangerously before rupturing. Rory, reasonably startled, raises his arms to protect himself, but the sparks leave an array of burns across his forearms. Once the minute fireworks are gone, he leans heavily against the wall, moaning as his nerves register the stinging pain. He then catches himself and stuffs his fist in his mouth to prevent further noise, sliding down the wall to sit on the hard ground.

_I suppose it won't help to look soft_, Rory thinks, steeling himself. _It's not so bad now, after all._ He winces, not believing his own transparent lie.

A dreadfully loud collision resounds suddenly, rocking the very foundations of the facility. The walls tremble, and Rory begins to worry that he might end up buried down here and never get the chance to see Amy again.

_Oh Amy_, he laments silently, _I hope you're alright now._

Then he hears the footsteps. Heavy, forceful steps that slowly make their way towards the room he's in. Intermingled within the steady rhythm is erratic scuffling and a few muttered curses.

"Stop it, Gwen." Commands a cold, distinctly Welsh, male voice. The door into the room slides open and in marches a strange group. Rory scrambles to his feet.

In the lead is a wiry man with dark hair. His wide mouth is bent into an expression of disdain and he just _looks_ like a scumbag. Directly following him is a small figure in a heavily armored body suit, complete with boots, gloves, and a large helmet. Most of the group actually consists of several other people dressed in identical outfits.

Behind the first few, Rory spots two people he recognizes. The Asian lady, Toshiko, has her hands bound and is being pulled along by one of the suited people. Her mouth is a tight line, and her skin is adorned with scratches and scrapes.

Gwen looks the worst. She's pulled along haphazardly, wrists bound, and there's a gloved hand clamped over her mouth. Something hard must have smacked her across the face, because her left eye is swelling shut, her nose is bleeding, and her cheek is lined with scrapes. Her gun is obviously missing.

Rory presses his hands against the glass door, looking her over in concern. "Gwen, what-"

"Quiet, you. I've half the mind to kill you now." The wiry scumbag snaps. He steps forward and starts entering the code to unlock the door to Rory's cell.

Gwen struggles out of her captor's grip. "Stop this, Owen!" She cries desperately. Her captor snatches her back and cuffs her over the head for her insubordination, causing her to whimper in pain.

Owen hardly spares her a glance. He steps aside as the door to the cell opens. Rory steps away from it warily, eyeing the group.

"Well?" Owen impatiently addresses the leading armored figure. "I've done what you asked."

The person steps forward. "You have performed your duty adequately." They announce in a gruff voice. Then they signal to the rest of the group and lunge forward to grab Owen.

Owen, Gwen, and Toshiko all get thrown into the cell with Rory, but he's pulled out by another suited person. The door shuts behind him, leaving the three of them locked in.

Rory compliantly goes where he's directed through rooms and corridors, until eventually they end up back in the office he originally appeared in."What's going on?" He asks, thoroughly confused by, well, everything. However, his words fall on deaf ears, and the group simply push him into a chair at the big desk and back up to the edges of the room. Only one remains in the center of the room, the one who appears to be the leader.

"Identify yourself." The figure commands firmly. Even though they're at least a foot shorter than Rory, they're intimidating nonetheless.

"I'm Rory." He manages to say. "Wh-who are you?"

One of the people against the wall hisses with displeasure, but is silenced by a quick signal from the leader.

"I am Letwir Jontehf of the ship Verdsteihl, second in authority only to Telvin Estahnei herself." The leader responds coldly.

"Right. And what do you want with me?"

More displeasured hissing errupts from the back of the room, only to be silenced once again by Jontehf.

"I will ask the questions here, peasant." Jontehf growls menacingly. "Now where did you obtain the Key?"

"The what?"

This time Jontehf hisses. "The Transport Key that you stole and used to get here! Where was it found?"

"I don't..." Rory trails off when his eyes drop to the floor and catch sight of the smoking disk from earlier. "Oh, that Key. I don't know where it came from. It was just there."

"Just. Where?" Jontehf questions in a menacing tone.

Rory curses himself silently for letting that slip. He desperately tried to think of what to say. "It was just lying around on the TA—ship. On the ship."

"Your ship?" Jontehf asks, drawing back a little in surprise.

"Y—no. Not mine. I'm just the-" he couldn't pass himself off as just a passenger, they'd think he's worthless. "The second in command. That's me."

The room goes utterly silent. Rory almost panics, thinking he must have said something wrong. He's about to correct himself when Jontehf bows to him stiffly.

"You have my sincerest apologies, Letwir Rory. I did not realize we were equals." He says, his voice as rigid as his posture. Cleary he wasn't happy about Rory having the same rank as him.

_I guess 'Letwir' is the rank,_ Rory pondered. _All right, now that he thinks I'm his equal, I should be allowed to ask him some questions. _

"Right then, Jontehf," Rory begins, ignoring the hissing from the back, "what are you? And why are you here?"

Jontehf growls, obviously unimpressed with Rory taking charge. He stays silent, but reaches up and removes his helmet.

Rory tries to contain his astonishment; he really does. It's not like he hasn't seen aliens before. But it's still a little strange whenever he meets a new species. When Jontehf takes off his helmet, he reveals his humanoid head. But his skin is pale green, and his veins are either bright blue or emerald. He has no hair, and instead an array of short spikes adorn his scalp. He also doesn't appear to have a nose.

"I am of the Slykein race, from the planet Istran." He states imperiously.

Rory nods slowly. "So what do you want? Why are you here?" he repeats.

Jontehf frowns derisively. "This interview is over." He waves his hand dismissively, and two figures, most likely also Slykeins, come forward from the back of the room.

"Where are you taking me?" Rory cries as they grab him by the arms and pull him out of the room.

As they sweep past Letwir Jontehf, Rory's 'escorts' pause so their leader can speak. "You share my rank, therefore you have been allowed certain _privileges_," he spat out the word as if it was distasteful, "but you are first and foremost my prisoner, and will be accommodated as such. Dismissed."

* * *

In the end, he's tossed back into a holding cell. This one is directly across the hall from the one containing Gwen, Owen, and Toshiko, and it's bigger than theirs, if only just a little. But, of course, this is taken as a great offense by Owen.

"What makes you so special?" Owen snarls once the Slykeins are gone. "We're all cooped up in here, but you've got your own luxury suite."

"Owen, shut it." Gwen says tiredly from her seat on a small bench. She has her head against the wall and her eyes are closed. Her bruises are even more prominent now. "It's not worth arguing over."

"Well, I'd like to know just who he thinks he is. Marching in here, taking Jack, and bringing those alien friends of his along. Where did he even come from?" Owen questioned scornfully.

"Owen has got a point." Toshiko pipes up from her spot in the corner.

"Tosh," Gwen starts, but Toshiko cuts her off.

"Not about the cells. I mean about him," she gestures towards Rory, "I mean, where did he come from? All I managed to figure out before those aliens broke down our front door is that the energy readings surrounding him matched those of the device Jack brought back earlier. He must have somehow used the device to get here." She directs her next question to Rory, who was sitting alone in his cell, silently following the debates. "Where are you from?"

Rory is getting the sense that these people must be used to the concept of aliens. But still, trying to explain that he traveled around with a thousand-year old alien from an extinct planet in a time machine that's bigger on the inside would be difficult no matter the audience's otherworldly experience. Plus, he didn't even know if he could trust these people.

"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you." He answered quietly.

Gwen sat up straighter now. "You'd be surprised." She replied. "We've seen a lot of strange things around here."

Rory smiled a little. "I'm sure I've seen even stranger things."

Gwen leans forward and smirks like that's a challenge. "A gauntlet that brings people back from the dead."

"Living plastic Romans."

"Fairies that murder to protect the children they're going to kidnap."

"Vampire fish in Venice."

"A necklace that allows you to read minds." Toshiko throws in.

Rory raises his eyebrows. "Stone angels that move when you're not watching them."

"A man who can't die." Gwen says triumphantly.

"Is that all you've got?" Rory asks, laughing a little. The three other stare at him.

"Don't tell me you can top that." Owen responds contemptuously. "We work for a secret organization called Torchwood that investigates alien cases on Earth. There's nothing you could have seen that beats our experience."

Rory takes in a deep breath, calming his laughter. It was mostly nerves anyway. "I travel through time and space in a blue police phone box with my wife and a thousand year old alien that calls himself the Doctor, who's from an extinct race, and who can regenerate into a new body whenever he's fatally injured. I have been through far more than you."

A shocked silence descends on the group, and Rory laughs a little. And then he stops. And then he thinks. And then he worries that he said too much. And then he panics silently while the Torchwood operatives stare at him incredulously.

"_Time_ and space?" Questions a stunned Toshiko. Rory nods.

"A _phone box?_" Owen asks disbelievingly.

"It's bigger on the inside." Rory responds.

Gwen looks at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Are you even human?"

Rory is quite taken aback by that question. "Of course I am. What else would I be?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe _not _human?" Owen remarks sarcastically.

No one bothers to grace this comments with a response, and the cells are quiet again for several minutes.

Suddenly, Gwen makes the connection and stands up. "The Doctor is an alien." She states, pauses to think, and then continues. "And he travels through time and space. He's been to all kinds of worlds, past, present, and future. He'd know all sorts of things. And people go with him."

"Sometimes he's got companions, yeah." Rory corrects her. "Why, is that important?"

"Companions like you and your wife." She says, and Rory nods, not quite comprehending what she's getting at. "Or Jack."

Toshiko and Owen immediately look turn their heads to look at her. Rory, a little bit puzzled, nods again. "I guess. I don't actually know who this Jack is, but there's always the possibility. The Doctor has traveled with a lot of people."

Gwen sits back down slowly, apparently deep in thought. Nobody else says anything, so Rory turns his eyes to the wall and his thoughts to his wife.

* * *

Several hours pass without incident. There hasn't been a word spoken since the conversation about the Doctor earlier. Gwen and Toshiko fell asleep a long time ago, and Rory is only half-awake. Owen has his eyes closed, but his breathing pattern suggests that he's still conscious.

A distant noise echoes through the block of cells, a mere whisper of sound. Then a sequence of faint taps starts, and soon grows in volume. Owen opens his eyes suspiciously, eyes darting around the corridor outside his cell. The rhythm of tapping gets even louder, and soon rouses Rory from his stupor. He quietly stands up and looks around for the source. Both are listening intently.

It doesn't take long for the tapping to resolve into the common, familiar cadence of footsteps. Owen's expression hardens momentarily as he peers down the hall, but then it softens and he almost smiles. Rory still isn't so sure that the footsteps are a good thing.

"Who is it?" He whispers to Owen.

The man's gaze snaps to him. "Haven't you noticed yet that one of us is missing?" Owen responds. Although he's speaking at a normal volume, the sound is uncomfortably loud after so long in silence.

Rory looks at the trio in the cell, suddenly realizing for the first time that someone is, in fact, missing. He looks down the hall again, watching as the approaching silhouette enters the light and resolves itself into a familiar form.

Ianto.

* * *

**As requested, here is the pronunciation guide! Tell me, though, should I keep posting the whole thing (with all new additions) at the end of every chapter, or should I only post the new words/pronunciations? Let me know what you think, I love to hear from you!**

**-DC**

* * *

**PRONOUCNIATION GUIDE **

**Chapter 3 **

**Eucliseae: you-CLISS-ay**

**Istran: iss-tron**

**Slykein: SLY-kay-in **

**Chapter 4 **

**Telvin: TELL-v-in**

**Estahnei: ess-TAUN-ay**

**Ketle: ket-lay**

**Chapter 5 **

**Letwir: let-weer **

**Jontehf: joan-teff**

**Verdsteihl: v-ER-stale**


End file.
